Back Again
by xoxoEmmixoxoluvs2rite
Summary: A surprise awaits the Weasleys when James starts his first year at Hogwarts,and he discovers a family friend. It had been so hard for the family to get over this man's death, and when James discovers him, he must decide if it is right to reveal him or not
1. Chapter 1: Gone

Ginny Weasley

Chapter 1)

I snapped my head away from the people around me. My eyes burned, and I was fighting back tears. My big brother, the silly, joking, loving brother, was gone. He was never coming back. And now, as I watched his casket float down the aisle, I curled into Harry's arms, too upset to move. He rubbed my shoulder, soothingly, but it didn't help. I was sure that, right now, nothing could. He still tried. But I had to remember that Harry was upset, too. He had been great friends with Fred...

The tears were coming again. I tried to choke back a sob, completely unsuccessful. I attempted to take deep breaths, to calm myself down. Again, unsuccessful. My breaths were uneven and shaky. Harry leaned in and kissed my forehead, pulling a red-gold lock of my hair behind my ear. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. I wanted this day to end. I didn't want to remember Fred like this. He was a fun-loving, mischievous, kind person. NOT a dead person in some old coffin.

That was when I saw George. Fred's twin brother. His eyes were at the ground. I could see the pain on his face. I felt all his pain. I knew how scary it was to lose a brother, but your _twin?_ I wouldn't be able to stand it.

He looked up at the front of the aisle, in front of Fred's casket. A woman with burnt orange hair coughed, her mascara streaked down her cheeks. Though she appeared distraught and un-put-together, I (quite obviously) recognized her as my mother. Mum had prepared a speech, but I wondered if she could pull herself together enough to say it aloud. She cleared her throat and rubbed tears off her neck. I listened as she made her effort to begin.

"Wel-come. Every. One. T-th-thank y-y-you for c-com-ming. Fred was-" She choked on his name. "F-fred was a truly amazing...ah... amazing son. H-he w-w-as creative and j-just per... perfect. I know w-what an impact he had on our f-f-f-family." She broke down on family. She sat down and rubbed her fingers along the casket. "S-s-sorry," was all she managed.

I stood up. Harry gently grabbed my arm, as if to question my choice, but let go. I gave him a weak, thanking smile. I took slow, heavy steps toward my mother. When I reached her, (and boy, did it feel like forever) I took her hand. My dad stood behind her, his arm on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Molly. It's all right. You're alright..." I heard Dad mumble. I looked at him and started to sob. He reached out his free hand and hugged me. "Shall we continue our speech, Moll?" She nodded, reluctantly. She picked up her paper, now with salty water splotches on it.

"I...I...I'm s-s-sorry. I was s-saying how w-wonderful our F-f-f-fr-fr-fred was. I hope that, where. ever. he...is that he is h-h-happy. We love him. Thank you." She sat back in her seat between Dad and Charlie, my brother. I took my seat again, and I buried my face in Harry's chest. He held me, letting me cry, as I wanted.

I just wished Fred could be happy, maybe with George again, somehow. I loved my big brother so much. He was everything. He was half of "Fred and George." Only half was left, and our family missed him terribly. I didn't move until the ceremony.

I had fallen asleep, crying in Harry's arms. He carried me back to the Burrow. I awoke in the middle of the night, apparently screaming about Fred. That made me even more upset, as it hurt my mum to see me so sad. I didn't sleep anymore. All the while, Harry sat with me, also unable to drift asleep.

My First Story.

Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: On My Way

James Potter

18 years later

"James, would you _please_ hurry up? You don't want to miss your first day of school at Hogwarts, do you?" My dad could be so annoying. I _was_ hurrying. I most certainly_ didn't_ want to miss my first day. But, Albus had been bothering me about writing _letters_ and _keeping in touch._ He had been so worried we wouldn't be best brothers anymore. Of course we would, I had assured him. We only had a sister.

My sister. That was another problem that had slowed me down. Lily had decided to pack her favourite teddy bear, Mr. Ted D. Bare, in my trunk. She wanted him to be on bottom, to keep warm. But, in her attempt to comfort the bear, Lily had messed up all the clothes in the trunk. I had spent half and hour re-folding my clothes.

Now, I had moved on to dressing appropriately. I wore a black robe, with a white polo and black khakis. My Gryffindor hat was safely packed with Ted in my trunk. I was praying that I would end up in Gryffindor, like my father and mother before me. Even my grandparents, two of whom were deceased, were in the magnificent house. Those two grandparents had died in the name of justice, to protect my father, then a baby. It was an honor to be a Potter. A true honor.

So, you might understand I had a lot to live up to. And, although my mother and father had both assured me that being in Slytherin would be great, well…I shuddered at the mere thought.

Back to reality, and out of my deep thoughts, I had to get downstairs, where my mom and dad awaited to escort me to Platform 9 ¾. I had the jitters. Butterflies were jolting in my stomach. I was going to go to Hogwarts. I was finally going to Hogwarts. This would be great. I firmly grasped the handle of my trunk and headed down our wooden steps to the living room.


	3. Chapter 3: Like Father, Like Son

James Potter

Finally, I had arrived at the massive castle that so many young witches and wizards had called home for 7 years of there life. It was beautiful, though intimidating. It was beyond huge. The grounds must have surrounded the main building for miles. I suddenly felt small and unimportant, despite my family. I hadn't realized that my dad wasn't joking when he said it was frightening yet stunning at the same time.

I took in a deep breath. This was it. As soon as I entered the enormous front doors, I, along with many others, would be ushered to the great hall and be sorted. I felt the butterflies, which had departed, fly back to my stomach. I could not be in Slytherin. I _would_ not be in Slytherin.

Now I sat on the stool in front of the entire student body. Eyes watched, waiting. I wasn't the first to go up to the stool. In fact, because my name was Potter, and that started with P, I was close to the end. The excitement usually wore off by letter L, at least, that's what Dad and Mum told me. But no, all eyes were glued to my nervous, innocent face. I didn't know what to expect when our headmaster placed the ragged brown cap on my head. I gulped.

_Hmmm. _Said the hat._ Very interesting. A Potter. How are your father and mother? They were both Gryffindors, you know. Yes, I can see you have their brains. Very smart, indeed. You also seem as if you may be, oh, troublesome. That was your father alright. Where would _you_ like to be place, my boy?_

Had the sorting hat just _asked_ me? Wow!

"Gryffindor, just not Slytherin," I murmured, hoping no one besides me and the hat had heard. He gave a deep, light-hearted chuckle.

_You might not know this, but your father didn't want Slytherin either. He muttered to me, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." Well, like father, like son, I suppose. Hey, I guess it had better be…_

"GRYFFINDOR!" This he shouted loud enough for the whole room to hear. The Gryffindors clapped and cheered with great enthusiasm. I was in Gryffindor. I couldn't wait to tell Mum and Dad.

I sat down at a table with the other Gryffindors, overjoyed. Everyone smiled at me, welcoming.

_This will be great_, I decided. _Absolutely _perfect.


	4. Chapter 4: Friends Keep Secrets

James Potter

I decided that it was a good time to explore. Our bags had been brought up to our rooms. I was in a room with three other first years. There names were Ricky Clement, John Dublin, and Chris Kassidy. I had gotten along with all three, but was, as of now, closest to Chris. John was a bit too book smart for me and Ricky was somewhat boring. I asked what he wanted to do today, and he replied, "Nothing." I asked about the rest of the week, and he said, "Nothing, jeez!" So, yeah, he wasn't the best, but nice enough.

Chris wanted to come exploring with me. I was reluctant, but agreed. I knew that, if he came, I would have to do one of two things. The first was that we could risk being caught and go in plain sight. The second was to reveal a family secret. I chose number two, as I was very eager to try my father (and grandfather)'s method of sneaking around.

"Chris, we're friends, right?" I tried to sound calm. He gave me a funny look, not buying my supposed-to-be-joking smile.

"Uh, dur!" It was funny. Chris acted as if we'd been friends all of our lives. Now, I relaxed a bit.

"Can I trust you?"

"Of course, man. What is it?" He had a waiting look on his face. I took a breath.

"Well, you know how…well…my dad is Harry Potter?" I felt myself shrink. Much like my dad, I didn't care for the spotlight.

"Uh-huh. He was the awesome guy who killed Voldemort, right? I think I read a bit on him. So, yes…" He was waiting for my secret, I could tell. I knew that Chris didn't know everything about Voldemort and my dad because he was a Muggle born.

"Okay, well, he had a cloak. And this cloak was…special." I paused.

"Go on," He encouraged.

"Well, it could…it makes you invisible. And that is how I planned to sneak around. Are you in?" I smiled.

"Blimey, of course!" He smiled a wide smile.

"Where shall we begin our rule-breaking fun?" I joked, as we made our way down the winding stairs to the Gryffindor common room. There were five girls sitting down near the fire. Two were second years. One was a third year. One was a sixth year. The last was a first year. I recognized her as Lissa Mariette. Lissa was short, with a beautiful, peach face. Her eyes were a shimmering blue, and her hair was a honey-gold colour. She was stunningly beautiful.

"Going somewhere?" She asked Chris and me. We exchanged glances.

"Yes," I answered simply.

"I want to come, if you don't mind."

"Uhm…"

"It's settled then, I'm coming." And she hopped up and started walking with us. All I could think was, _Uh oh!_


	5. Chapter 5: Jealous

James Potter

Well, I certainly was uncomfortable having Lissa with us. I could tell by the nervous glances Chris shot at me that he was uncomfortable, as well. She acted as though we were all best friends since birth, which, clearly, we weren't.

"So, how do you boys like Hogwarts?" Lissa asked. I looked at her as if she was insane, which was rather likely.

"Uhm, I like it…but Lissa, why are you here?" I whispered, careful not to be heard from under our invisibility cloak.

"Well, I know that you are Harry Potter's son, and I thought it would be cool to get to know you. I know that sounds like I am conceited, just wanting to be friends with someone popular, but it's pretty well known that your father was and adventurer and I am too. So, I figured you might be, as well…" She broke off. Well at least she wasn't insane. She just liked to explore.

"All right, you can come from now on. Just don't be slow or loud or anything that can give us away!" I added the last part sternly.

"Yes, Sir!" She laughed, saluting me. Chris and I broke into laughing fits, quickly hushing, when we remembered we were invisible in the dead of night. Then, I got a good idea. I drew out my wand, and whispered, "Muffliato." This was a spell my dad had taught me. It would make our conversation seem silent to others.

"So, Liss, what's your story? Are you Muggle-born or what?" Chris asked her. She looked up. This was the first time Chris had spoken to her.

"I…uh…I am a pure-blood. My mum is Mariana Mariette. Have you heard of her? Well, she is a healer at St. Mungo's. My dad is Ricardo Mariette. He is the singer. Ricci and the Mariettes? They are not that popular, but-"

"Are you kidding? I _love_ that band! Can you get me a signed CD? That is so cool, Lissa!" I chimed in. I had a poster of Ricci and the Mariettes on my bedroom wall, right between my posters of the Weird Sisters and the Irish Quiddich team, where Barry Ryan, the Keeper, stood in front.

"Well, I suppose. I didn't know you were a fan!" She seemed pleased. She smiled at me. I grinned back.

"So, you were saying…" I wanted to hear more about her.

"Oh, right, well, my dad is Ricci. Well, I have a sister who is coming to Hogwarts next year. Her name is Ricana. That's pronounced Ree-sah-na. Yeah, she is a lot prettier than me."

"Oh, I doubt that!" I said, dumbly, marveling at _her_ beauty and the beautiful way she said Ricana. She had a delicate and sweet, singsong voice. It was perfect. Chris kicked my foot.

"You're drooling." Chris murmured, warningly. I quickly wiped away the wad of saliva on my chin. Then, louder, Chris said, "Hey, James, isn't your little brother starting school next year?"

"Oh, yeah, his name is Albus. Al is sorta a cool brother. Yeah, I like him better than my sister, Lily." As soon as I spoke un-kindly toward my sister, I regretted it. That wasn't true. I edited, "Well, really, they are both pretty great. I love them both to death, obviously. Al was named after Albus Dumbledore and his middle name, Severus, is after Severus Snape. Lily is after my Gram, who died when my dad was a baby. I am named from my Gramp, who also died when my dad was a baby."

"Oh, that's pretty cool. How about you, Chris? How was life as a Muggle? I am fascinated to find out." Said Lissa. That got me angry. She wanted to hear Chris's story, and not mine!

Chris began to speak, "Well, Liss, it was sorta different from the Wizard world because…"

I broke him off, "Well, you know, my dad grew up living with Muggles. I know some stuff he told me."

"That's great, James, but let Chris talk, really!" Lissa answered.

"As I was saying…" I hated how Liss was paying attention to him. I barely knew her, but I was jealous of Chris for taking her attention. Was I insane?

When Lissa was done talking to Chris, she turned to me. "What was that about before?" She asked simply. I looked at her as if I was confused.

"What did I do?"

"You know darn well!"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know about my dad!"

"Well, Chris was speaking!"

"SO?"

"SO! So, I was asking Chris about _his_ life! Oh My Gosh! You are so annoying!"

"Whatever, Lissa!" That was it. We stopped talking after that. We just kept walking around.


	6. Chapter 6: Ghost Chase

Lissa Mariette

James Potter! He is so annoying! Can't the boy just live with the fact that the world isn't all about him? I mean, why did he have to butt in to my conversation with Chris? Uh! It's my first day at Hogwarts and I'm already in a fight with someone.

I stopped thinking about all the annoying things about James when I saw it turn the corner. Bluish-gray coloured, tall and handsome. A ghost. Which one? I wondered. Hey, maybe it was our house ghost, Sir Nicholas (Nearly Headless Nick!) They say he is friendly and kind. A real friend of Harry, I think. Maybe James recognized him. Well, I wasn't going to ask the annoying jerk.

"Hey! Wait up!" I called to the ghost, forgetting my invisibility. James slapped my shoulder. "You let go of me, James!" I snapped at him, lifting the cloak off me. I ran to catch up with the ghost. "Who are you? Sir, ghost!" I called, but the ghost only hurried away faster, disappearing through a wall. I frowned. I guess I wouldn't see a ghost today. I looked around, realizing that I had run quite a ways away from where James, Chris, and I had stood before. They turned the corner, huffing and puffing.

"Oh, there you are Liss. What in Merlin's name was that about?" Chris asked, gasping for air. Silly wimp, it wasn't that far he had ran.

"Well, Chris, I saw a ghost. But, it ran away from me. So, I tried to catch up, but it disappeared behind this here wall." I gestured to the wall adjacent me. It was a creamy, concrete-brick material wall. I frowned again, wishing I had identified the ghost. "I had hoped it was Sir Nicholas. You know, Nearly Headless Nick? Well, I suppose I shan't ever know, right boys?" I half-smiled. They nodded in agreement. Suddenly, James turned to me.

"Look, Lissy, I…I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to get all rude. You were right. I was jealous. I don't _normally_ like the spotlight but…oh, I don't know…will you forgive me?" I examined his face for sincerity. His eyes were deep and beautiful. His mouth looked as if it were preparing to smile, if I forgave him, that was. He stared at me, waiting.

"Oh, yes. I'll forgive you. But quit the jealousy thing, all right?" I smiled. He laughed, "Thanks, Liss!" I don't know why he was being so enthusiastic…maybe I had missed a joke or something. But, whatever.

"So, you thought that ghost was Sir Nicholas?" Chris asked.

"Well, yeah, I hoped so!" I replied.

"What did he look like? Did you get a good look?" James looked at me.

"Gee, if I got a good look, wouldn't I have _known_ who it was? I do know what Sir Nicholas looks like. All I saw was that he was semi-transparent. Oh, and he was tall. I assumed he was handsome, but I really can't be sure." My first sentence was in a smart-alecky tone. But, they laughed.

"Well, my mum told me that Sir Nicholas was pleasant, and I think he was tall. She also told me that, back when Voldemort was getting stronger, she was possessed by one of his soul pieces, called Horcruxes, and she set a monster on Sir Nicholas to petrify him. But, she was, as I said, not aware she did it." James told me what he knew about Sir Nicholas.

"Oh, well, like I said, I didn't get a great look. I guess it wasn't that important. Let's go back to the common room, maybe play a game of wizard chess. I got a good set for my birthday!" I didn't want to stay out too late, or I would never be able to wake up in time for my first class, Herbology.

Then we heard footsteps. James gasped, for he had left his cloak on the ground many feet away. The footsteps, and the person making them, would be here before the cloak could be around us. We turned and ran away. Naturally, we weren't quick enough to escape whoever this was. We spun around after we heard a mans voice call to us,

"Why in such a hurry, children?"


	7. Chapter 7: Caught By A Friend

Chris Kassidy

When we heard that voice call to us, I think we all panicked. I did, for sure! We spun around, looking into the face of our Herbology teacher, Professor Neville Longbottom. I gulped. James was the first to speak.

"Professor! Hello, sir! We were just on our way to bed." Professor Longbottom eyed each of us. First, he looked at Lissa. He made his eyes go squinty, and frowned. Then he looked at me. He had the same reaction. I expected he would do the same to James, and then give us each a week's worth of detention. Maybe he would even take away house points. Oh, boy, we were in for it! But, thank God, I was wrong. When he saw James, he smiled.

"James Potter? How are you? How are Mum and Dad? And Al and Lily?" He walked over and shook James's hand. James smiled.

"Oh, I am just great, Professor! And~" He didn't let James continue.

"Oh, we aren't in class yet James! You can call me Neville."

"Okay, well, Neville then. I am good. Dad is good, as well. He's an auror now! Mum requests that I send you her love. And Al and Lily are as troublesome as ever." James and Professor Longbottom laughed. I was having trouble understanding all of this.

"Harry's an auror? Wow! And Ginny, tell her thanks, and that I 'send my love' right back to your family." He was chuckling. I forced out a confused (supposed to be friendly) smile. "And who are your friends, James?" added Professor.

"Well, sir, this is Lissa Mariette," he gestured to Lissy. "And this it Chris Kassidy." James smiled, pointing his arms at me.

"Well, well, well. It appears we have the next Harry, Ron, and Hermione. You know, James, they snuck out a lot, too!" He chortled again. My face went crooked, and I was having so much trouble understanding. "Okay, your friends haven't the slightest idea what we are talking about, so I shall explain. James's dad, Harry, and I are friends. So, that's how I know the Potters. Now, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger used to be best friends. Of course, now it's Hermione Weasley. But they would always sneak out at night to explore. Got in lots of trouble for it, too! The three were inseparable. You three just reminded me of them, that's all." The professor was still laughing. It didn't seem that funny! I laughed anyway.

"Yeah, we visit the Weasleys often; especially considering my mum is Ron's sister." James spoke again.

"Okay, you three can go, just don't let any _other _professors catch you! Good night, James. Good night, Lissa and Chris." He smiled and walked away. James grabbed his cloak once the professor was out of sight, and we hurried back to our common room.

"Uh, James? That was _so_ weird," Liss said, finally. She made a funny face. James just laughed.

"Oh, I know. But Neville-I mean, Professor Longbottom-is nice, so I had to stop and chat. He helped my dad a lot when they were younger and Voldemort was at large, so, naturally, I owe him respect."

"Still, it was insane he asked you to call him Neville. And he asked about your family by _first names!_" Liss said.

"Yeah, let's just go to sleep, I'm tired!" James replied. I nodded in agreement.

"Fizzing Werhlbees," James recited the password. The portrait of the fat lady swung open and we headed up to our beds.

"Good night," murmured Lissy, as we were half up the stairs. I didn't respond. I just crept to my bed, without even changing, and drifted into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: First Classes

James Potter

We had our first classes in the morning. Naturally, neither Chris nor I wanted to get up. But we had to. So, at 6:30 a.m. when our alarm went off, we shrugged out of bed, moving at almost impossibly slow speeds. We brushed our hair-mine, which was incurably untidy, as my father's had been-and brushed our teeth. We slipped on our Gryffindor robes and clothes underneath.

"What class do you have first?" Chris asked me. I picked up my schedule and looked at today.

"Transfiguration. How about you?"

"Me too! Let's go see if Lissa has Transfiguration also! Maybe we have all our classes together!" So, we headed down the spiraling staircase and into the Gryffindor common room, where Liss was waiting.

"So, do you two have Defense Against the Dark Arts first?" Lissa asked us, hopefully.

"Naw, we have Transfiguration," I told her, disappointed.

"Well…what do you have next?"

"I have a break. An hour," I said.

"Me too!" Exclaimed Lissy.

"Aw! I have Potions! C'mon! I don't wanna have Potions alone!" Chris ranted to us. Lissa giggled. I smiled.

"Well, we still have Transfiguration. Let's go!" I said, already climbing through the portrait hole. Sure enough, Chris was right behind me.

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Transfiguration was a fun class. Our teacher, Professor Minerva McGonagall, smiled at us…or, rather, me. No one really knew Chris, but I got the spotlight. That was a bit embarrassing. Mostly, I tried to ignore it. And, I wasn't overly famous. Not really. It was more my dad. Wow, I sound awfully pig-headed right now. So, back to Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall began to tell us her expectations of us as students in her class. She told us the things we would be reviewing this year. She showed us some exciting spells. She covered a lot of information. However, no one was truly intrigued until Professor McGonagall turned into a cat.

She was an Animagious. (**A.N. Was that spelled right?)** That meant she could turn into an animal of her own free will. My late grandfather had been an Animagious. He turned into a stag. (**A.N. It was a stag, right?) **It was very interesting to watch her transform. I thought to myself, _I wish I could do that. It would be so cool!_ Maybe I would become an Animagious one day. Yeah, that would be fun.

The entire duration of the class was fun, and Chris and I were sad to see it end. But now we had a break. That was good. Well, I had a break. He had Potions. So he was especially sad. He headed of to the dungeons while I headed back to the Gryffindor common room, where Lissa was waiting for me. Maybe we could each get a start on our homework. Or just relax. Yeah, relaxing sounded good.

****************************************

Back in the common room, I almost collapsed on the mahogany chair. I was so tired, for unknown reasons. I was the only one in the room. Then I heard a noise. I stood up, and peered around the corner to see a figure, blue and opaque. A ghost.


End file.
